PLORA AND SYLVA, 



294 



in various other localities, notably at 

 Pain's Hill in Surrey. Having said this 

 much it may seem unnecessary to add, 

 that during all these years I have, as often 

 as opportunity offered, felt it as an ob- 

 ligation laid upon me to influence all 

 whom I could persuade to plant Cedars, 

 and I look back with no small satisfac- 

 tion to what I have been permitted to 

 accomplish in this way. With ample 

 evidence to the contrary, it is marvel- 

 lous to find so many people clinging to 

 the fallacy that the Cedar is of slow 

 growth. It is quite true that a Cedar or 

 any other tree will grow slowly, planted , 

 as it often is, in exposed and draughty 

 situations upon open lawns — a treat- 

 ment to which so many Cedars are cruel- 

 ly subjected. If Cedars are planted like 

 other ordinary trees in the shelter of 

 common plantations that are properly 

 attended to and duly thinned, I venture 

 to assert that they will surpass in height 

 and bulk of growth the ordinary ever- 

 green trees, and not only so, but that 

 this growth will be maintained." 

 , . The noblest use, then, for 



Increase and ' \ 



Planting, the Cedar of Lebanon is as 

 a forest tree. Like all the Pines it lives its 

 life in companies and is far more worthy 

 of being so planted than almost any of 

 the American conifers — save, perhaps, 

 the Douglas Fir. Plant the Cedars young 

 and rather close, as when planting any 

 other Pines. I am planting a few acres 

 of Cedars this autumn — seedlings not 

 over 1 foot high, alternated with Larch. 

 This tree, which clothes the scanty ribs 

 of the mountains of Cyprus and North 

 Africa, will not fail us upon the hills and 

 in the valleys of England. Anyone may 



see the result of what I mean here and 

 there (as in the long covert at Shrub- 

 lands), but not often, from the rooted 

 idea that the Cedar can only be used as 

 a lone" specimen.'" In speaking of the 

 Cedar I refer only to the Cedar of Le- 

 banon and the Atlas form of it from the 

 mountains of North Africa, and never to 

 the Deodar, which is tender in our coun- 

 try and of value only as a pleasure gar- 

 den tree. The tree is so easily increased 

 that though usually treated in nurseries 

 as a " specimen " there should be no diffi- 

 culty in getting small healthy seedlings, 

 at least from forest tree nurseries. It be- 

 gins to fruit at about fifty years, even in 

 our country, and with vast forests fruit- 

 ing freely within reach of all the great 

 seed-houses of Europe there need be 

 no trouble in getting a good stock of it. 



The cone takes two years to mature and 

 contains about 100 seeds. After steep- 

 ing in water from twenty-four to thirty- 

 six hours the woody scales can be easily 

 detached, and the seed will not suffer if 

 dried in the sun. 



For supposed safety in packing and 

 planting, Cedars are grown in pots in 

 continental nurseries ; these are always 

 deceptive in result, the roots often almost 

 a distorted clinker, and when disentan- 

 gled, as they always should be, these 

 plants often perish. The rabbit is a true 

 artist in his love of the Cedar, gnawing 

 I every bit of bark off the little trees, and 

 I if not killing them, preventing any 



